Unless you have a monster team already, you're going to need to know the best Pokemon GO Arlo counters before you pick a fight with him. He's the coolest of the group, but his Pokemon aren't to be underestimated. Taking on Leader Arlo is no easy feat, so you'll want to prepare by powering up some of the Pokemon below.
Read on to train up the best Pokemon you can bring to the fight with Arlo. He, like the rest of the leaders, switches up his team whenever there's a Rocket Takeover event, causing the best counters to switch, too.
Pokemon Go Leader Arlo team (October 2023)
First Pokémon | Second Pokémon | Third Pokémon | Reward |
---|---|---|---|
Aipom | Alakazam, Mismagius, Sharpedo | Scizor, Snorlax, Magnezone | Nidoran (M) |
Arlo last rejigged his team during the June 2023 Rocket Takeover event, swapping back to his Nidoran for the first slot. In his second, look forward to Crobat, Steelix, or Cradily. As a last resort, he'll bring out Charizard, Scizor, or Armaldo.
Counters for Arlo's first Pokemon
Aipom
Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Machamp | Counter | Rock Slide |
Lucario | Counter | Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball |
Conkeldurr | Counter | Dynamic Punch, Stone Edge |
Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
Ursaluna | Tackle | High Horsepower |
Terrakion | Double Kick | Sacred Sword |
Buzzwole | Counter | Superpower |
Breloom | Counter | Close Combat |
There's not much to say about this one. Being a Normal-type Pokemon, just come at it with any of the powerful Fighting or Ground-type creatures you're bringing to the fight. Usual meta picks like Machamp and Lucario will work just fine.
Counters for Arlo's second Pokemon
Alakazam
Pokemon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Hydreigon | Dragon Breath | Flash Cannon |
Latias | Dragon Breath | Outrage |
Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
Obstagoon | Counter | Obstruct |
Gardevoir | Charm | Shadow Ball |
Darkrai | Snarl | Dark Pulse |
Hoopa | Astonish | Shadow Ball |
Gengar | Hex | Shadow Ball |
Absol | Snarl | Pay Back |
Chandelure | Hex | Shadow Ball |
As a Flying/Poison-type Pokemon, Crobat is weak against Flying, Rock, Ice, and Psychic attacks. Assuming it doesn't use a Dark-type move, another Pokemon like Hydreigon will work wonders here. Or just hit it hard with Latias.
Mismagius
Pokemon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Hydreigon | Bite, Dragon Breath | Brutal Swing, Flash Cannon |
Bulbasaur | Dragon Tail | Dragon Claw |
Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
Pangoro | Snarl | Night Slash |
Snorlax | Lick | Superpower |
Yveltal | Snarl | Dark Pulse |
Gengar | Shadow Claw | Shadow Ball |
Chandelure | Hex | Shadow Ball |
Zarude | Bite | Dark Pulse |
Absol | Snarl | Pay Back |
Mismagius won't stand a chance against a good Water, Ground, or Fighting-type Pokemon. As usual, you'll want a defensive pick to resist its own hard-hitting attacks, but a few saved charge attacks from a Flash Cannon Hydreigon or Dragon Claw Bulbasaur will do the trick.
Sharpedo
Pokemon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Vileplume | Razor Leaf | Moonblast |
Torterra | Razor Leaf | Stone Edge |
Machamp | Counter | Rock Slide |
Lucario | Counter | Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball |
Conkeldurr | Counter | Stone Edge |
Zekrom | Charge Beam | Fusion Bolt |
Pheromosa | Bug Bite | Bug Buzz |
Electivire | Thunder Shock | Wild Charge |
Terrakion | Double Kick | Sacred Sword |
Roserade | Razor Leaf | Grass Knot |
Sharpedo has been a pain since the day it made its debut in the third-generation games, and it's still a pain here. Being a Water-type Pokemon, its weaknesses are spread thin.
To deal with it effectively, you'll want a Grass-type attack. Thankfully, a classic Stone Edge Torterra will work wonders. Failing that, Fighting attacks will work just as well, so Machamp and Lucario are great secondary picks.
Counters for Arlo's third Pokemon
Scizor
Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Reshiram | Fire Fang | Overheat |
Darmanitan | Fire Fang | Overheat |
Moltres | Fire Spin | Overheat, Fire Blast |
Blaziken | Fire Spin | Blaze Kick, Blast Burn |
Heatran | Fire Spin | Fire Blast, Flamethrower |
Charizard | Fire Spin | Blast Burn |
Entei | Fire Spin | Overheat |
While incredibly dangerous given its lightning-fast attacks, Scizor is a very brittle bug.
Its dual Fire-type weakness means having any decent Fire-type Charged Move ready to rock as soon as it comes out will typically knock it out in one go. Moltres is a good answer to this, but Darmanitan (Normal) and Reshiram are two potent Pokémon as well.
Snorlax
Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Machamp | Counter | Close Combat, Rock Slide |
Obstagoon | Counter | Obstruct |
Conkeldurr | Counter | Dynamic Punch, Stone Edge |
Tyranitar | Smack Down | Stone Edge |
Ursuluna | Tackle | High Horsepower |
Terrakion | Double Kick | Sacred Sword |
Buzzwole | Counter | Superpower |
Lucario | Counter | Aura Sphere |
Breloom | Counter | Dynamic Punch |
To make things nice and easy with your Rock and Ground-type Pokémon, Snorlax can cap off the fight. It can't do much against your Pokémon, but you can punish its typing with any good Rock moveset. Conkeldurr, Ursuluna, and Tyranitar are the best for this.
Magnezone
Pokémon | Fast Move | Charged Move |
---|---|---|
Rhyperior | Mud Slap | Surf |
Rhydon | Mud Slap | Surf |
Golurk | Mud Slap | Dynamic Punch |
Swampert | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
Stunfisk | Mud Shot | Discharge |
Groudon | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades |
Landorus | Mud Shot | Earthquake |
Garchomp | Mud Shot | Earth Power |
Excadrill | Mud-Slap | Earthquake |
Blaziken | Fire Spin | Blast Burn |
Magnezone can be a struggle. It's more offense-minded, so you'll want to put it down with some stored Charged Attacks before it tears you apart. It's weak to Water-type attacks, making Swampert and Stunfisk two notable picks. Rock works just as well, so Rhyperior and Rhydon are two good options.
How do I battle Arlo in Pokemon GO?
To challenge Arlo to a battle, you'll first need to defeat six Team Rocket Grunts to collect enough Mysterious Components to build the Rocket Radar. Use that and you'll be able to see the location of a Rocket Leader.
Be warned, though. Battling a Rocket Leader is a completely different level of challenge compared to fighting against their lowly Grunts. Leaders use strong, high-level monsters. Pokemon GO Arlo counters are necessary to get the win, but the random nature of his potential team makes choosing your best Pokemon a real struggle.
- Check out: Pokemon GO Vivillon patterns
Using super-effective moves is virtually mandatory, and bringing bulky Pokémon can often be an even better idea than filling your team with powerful attackers that can't take a hit.
For more Pokemon GO guides, we have the same for each of the Team GO Rocket leaders, so check out our Cliff counters, Sierra counters, and the best Giovanni counters, too. He's bringing Shadow Registeel to the final battle.